It seems we haven’t covered much on wonderful Tajikistan so I suppose it’s time I kick things off with a word or two and some pretty cool Tajik links. The reasons for my taking notice are really unimportant at this point, but let’s say I’m cookin’ up a trip to the country sometime this year. Otherwise Tajikistan seems like a pretty hot destination spot if you’re into things like hiking and/or mountaineering in unique, remote places. The TJ tourism site is on the money at providing information to help get your travel planning started. Also worth checking into is this Tajikistan blog with incredible pictures of both people and beautiful architecture. That’s all for now, but trust me when I say there is more to come in the future on this lesser traveled country.

Tajik is the official language of the country and is closely related to the Persian (Farsi) language spoken in Iran. According to Wiki the most important Tajik-speaking cities of Central Asia are Samarkand and Bukhara which are located in present-day Uzbekistan. In addition to giving interested language learners a taste at some commonly used words and phrases, the Great Game Travel Company has excellent info and short trips for touring the city of Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Be sure to check out the list of words first. If you’re near the University of Washington look into their Near Eastern Language Programs. Lonely Planet has a pocket-sized phrasebook on Central Asian lingos worth packing along and several other book picks can be found by clicking here.